SaturnFans

Note: As General Motors gets ready to shut Saturn's doors at the end of this year, I'd like to take a moment to look back at why the brand was created and how it evolved over the years, what made the cars and company so special to me, and also address some concerns about how Saturn's closure will impact the future of SaturnFans.com.

Later tonight the giant ball in Times Square will be lowered when the clock strikes twelve and 2010 will come to an end. It's been a emotional year for Saturn employees, owners, and fans; October 31st marked the end of General Motors' grand Saturn experiment. Of all the news articles I've written for SaturnFans.com over the past 15 years, this one has been by far the hardest for me to write. Saying goodbye is never easy, and this time is no different. To me Saturn was more than just another car or company: it represented a fresh approach to running a business, and more significantly, it was a symbolic entry in America's ideological battle against the best vehicles the "import" car companies had to offer.

I used to spend hours researching, writing, and posting stories about Saturn at SaturnFans.com. Since Saturn's untimely closing, Saturn-related news stories are few and far between, but every so often Saturn is still referenced in a news article. As a result, I've built a feed that funnels Saturn stories from my GM Beat Saturn channel, directly into the General Saturn Discussion forum. If any of the articles are of particular interest, such as a recall alert, I'll be sure to also post them right here on the main SaturnFans home page too.

With the pending closure of the ImSaturn social networking site, Saturn has been working closely with me to facilitate a transfer of the most popular "social groups" from the ImSaturn site to SaturnFans.com. The remaining folks at Saturn have a sincere interest in making sure Saturn owners continue to have a place to talk about their cars. As a result, I'm happy to announce the creation of the new "ImSaturn Groups" section here at SaturnFans.com. Now more than ever, it's important for Saturn owners to have a place to share their experiences and get help. The new groups were built to closely mimic the group configuration at ImSaturn. You'll still be able to post photos, as well as send and receive messages from other members. You can also create your own social group!

Well, we're back! After the site crashed over the weekend, I decided to use the downtime to move SaturnFans.com to its new home. I had planned to do it back in Decemeber, but between the holidays, the SF Publisher being down, and other parts of the site needing maintenance, moving the site was not a priority. The good news is that over the weekend I was able to repair the database and fix the publisher. All of the articles published between December 8th and the end of the year will be restored from a backup later this week. Unfortunately, several batches of files transfered to the new site were corrupt, so the move has been postponed.

With General Motors' unfortunate decision to shutdown Saturn, the need for venues that enable owners and fans to communicate is greater than ever. In an effort to foster that communication across as many mediums as possible, SaturnFans.com can be followed via Twitter, RSS, ImSaturn, and now there's a fan page on Facebook. It's another place for Saturn owners — past and present — to socialize, share experiences, and offer support to each other in the wake of Saturn's untimely closing.

For the second time this month, SaturnFans.com has been knocked offline due to the surge of Saturn owners and enthusiasts flocking to the Web to read more about GM's decision to shutdown the Saturn brand. This time damage was much more extensive. While the primary site database has been reconstructed, there is still some work that needs to be done.

The server crash caused extensive damage to the database; it took a lot of time to troubleshoot and reconstruct. After working on this for two long nights, everything should be back to normal now. I apologize for the inconvenience. If you notice anything still acting strange, please send me an alert.

SaturnFans.com is currently looking for musicians who want to showcase their talents at the upcoming SaturnFest virtual homecoming celebration. SaturnFest '09 will take place online October 26th through the 30th on the computer-generated grassy fields of the Saturnalia Fairgrounds. Among the events previously announced will be a nighttime concert, which is where you come in.

Mark your calendars! The gates to SaturnFans.com's virtual homecoming celebration - SaturnFest 2009 - will open on Monday, October 26th and will run through Friday, October 30th. Opening ceremonies will begin at 7 o'clock Monday morning and will set the stage for what promises to be a week of fun filled festivities that you won't want to miss! Saturn fans from around the world will join together to interact, share experiences, and learn about Saturn.